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Better Kansas – Ideas for Living, Growing and Succeeding

Month: August 2020

Better Kansas – Aug. 27, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

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In today’s Better Kansas, we share information on cooking with herbs and spices; saving, sharing and budgeting; wheel bugs; Kansas Forest Service tree and shrub sale; a soybean disease and recent agricultural research in southwest Kansas. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

MAYBE YOU’RE ONE OF THOSE COOKS WHO JUST THROWS THINGS TOGETHER and the result is always absolutely scrumptious? I’m so envious! Many of the rest of us are less adventurous and can use some tips. Seasoning with herbs and spices is a wonderful resource that suggests which flavors tend to go with particular meats or vegetables, plus really useful information about health benefits of some herbs and spices. There are even tips about growing them and storing them. Did you know that turmeric fights inflammation? And cinnamon inhibits foodborne bacteria? Things to think about … and live with.

LAST WEEK I SHARED AN ITEM ON HOLIDAY SHOPPING. It’s never too early! Just don’t do like I do occasionally and put those early purchases in a closet, only to be forgotten until after the gift-giving occasion. This week we delve into family budgeting. Don’t let the name deceive you…. the factsheet is relevant if you’re a family of one … aka “me, myself and I” … or a crew of 10. Take a look at Spend Some, Save Some, Share Some: Family Budgeting for tips and reminders. Plus, it has information about typical families’ spending for such expenses as housing, food, transportation and healthcare, so you get an idea how your spending and saving compares. Don’t know about you but I’m all for reminders!

YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED, I LIKE WRITING ABOUT BUGS and this week I’m bringing information about wheel bugs, also called assassin bugs. Honestly, I just really like the names. Apparently, they’re all around us. It sounds like they don’t go out of their way to get in OUR way, but they’re intimidating enough I’d probably steer clear if I saw one. Unfortunately for a lot of other insects, these bugs are voracious predators that feed on caterpillars, beetles, aphids, ladybird beetles and honey bees.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

WITH SEPTEMBER COMES THE START OF THE KANSAS FOREST SERVICE TREE AND SHRUB SEEDLING SALE. The sale starts Sept. 1 and is a great way to get low-cost tree and shrub seedlings that can be used as conservation plantings. Think windbreaks, wildlife habitat, timber plantations or riparian (streambank) plantings – anyplace where you need a number of trees or shrubs to enhance the environment on your property. A wide variety of species is available, everything from Bur oak to False Indigo to Shagbark Hickory plus many others. Some are even designated as supportive of butterflies, bees or other pollinators. The trees come in packages of 25 per species. For more information, take a look at a recent news article or order on the Kansas Forest Service website.

 

A DISEASE FIRST FOUND IN SOYBEANS IN 1971 CALLED SUDDEN DEATH SYNDROME is showing up in Kansas this summer. Fields in the Kansas River Valley are reportedly affected by the soilborne fungus which can cut yields by up to 25%. SDS favors wet conditions, so is usually most severe in irrigated fields or dryland areas that received significant rain. And interestingly … it tends to be most severe on well-managed fields that have a high yield potential. Apparently, it knows a good thing when it sees it.

 

“KANSAS IS A VERY BIG STATE,” said anyone who’s ever driven across it. Plus, differences in the weather and soils from one part of the state to another mean farming in southwest Kansas, where it tends to be drier, is different than farming in southeast or northeast Kansas, which typically receive more precipitation. That’s part of why agricultural research is conducted in various parts of the state – to see how new crop varieties and management practices are suited for particular areas. Soybeans that do well in northeast Kansas may underperform in southwest areas and vice versa. Check out some of the latest southwest findings in the K-State Southwest Research-Extension Reports.

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For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/

Better Kansas – Aug. 20, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

 

 

 

In today’s Better Kansas, we touch on financial planning for the holidays, 2020 Census, SNAKES, corn and soybean status and crop irrigation research and outreach. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

IT’S ONLY AUGUST, BUT THIS MAY BE THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO ASK THOSE WE HOLD NEAR AND DEAR FOR holiday gift suggestions. The thinking is that we can spread shopping (and the expense) out over a few months rather than wait until the last minute. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but it’s worth a try. We don’t really know what December in the time of COVID-19 will look like, but some things probably will not change – gift giving, gatherings (of people at least in your bubble) and possibly travel. Christmas Spending: Planning Ahead Matters gives us things to think about. Maybe we can buffer a little holiday stress by planning ahead.

 

A K-STATE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION SPECIALIST this week pointed out that one in three Kansans still have not responded to the 2020 Census. If you haven’t already, please take a few minutes (I promise, it’s no more than that) to go online or call 844-330-2020 OR dig out that paper form you may have received months ago, fill it out and mail it back. It truly is shorter than I remember from previous census forms and the stakes are huge. The results determine congressional representation, how billions of dollars in federal funding are allocated and other decisions that will impact every one of our communities. Decisions about where to build new schools, new roads, where to offer grants for community mental health, and much more are based on this data. Read about the census in Kansas, plus a Wichita Eagle newspaper article sheds more light on implications for the state. You may have to sign up for an account to read it, but it’s free.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

I WAS IN CENTRAL KANSAS RECENTLY ON A FRIEND’S FARM and I admit, I was keeping a watchful eye out for snakes. With so many of us spending time outdoors right now, reading up on the myths, habitat, control and benefits (yes, there are some), is a good idea. Some of the common poisonous types we have in Kansas are cottonmouth, Copperhead, Massasauga and Timber Rattlesnake. But not all snakes are poisonous and we have many in Kansas that are not. To learn more, including how to tell a poisonous from a non-poisonous, check out Snakes: Urban Wildlife Damage Control.

 

SOYBEANS AND CORN ARE IMPORTANT CROPS IN KANSAS and this year’s crops are coming along but there are always challenges, including diseases. Southern rust, gray leaf spot, stalk rots and an interesting disorder called lesion mimic have shown up in some Kansas corn. Soybean fields have exhibited signs of (love this name) frogeye leaf spot, as well as Septoria brown spot and bacterial blight. Take a look at Status of disease pressure in corn and soybeans for pictures and descriptions of what to look for and potential ways to manage them. The Kansas corn crop was rated 15% excellent, 48% good, 25% fair, and 12% poor to very poor as of Aug. 16, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Soybeans were rated 19% excellent, 50% good, 25% fair and 6% poor to very poor. Data for weekly reports is contributed by USDA’s Farm Service Agency, K-State Research and Extension, and other reporters across the state.

 

WATER IS NECESSARY FOR LIFE OF ALL KINDS and in areas where it’s scarce, it’s even more important to get the most out of every drop. Making crop irrigation as efficient as possible is at the heart of the water management research program at the Southwest Research-Extension Center in Garden City and other research centers. Check out current projects and learn about Water Technology farm outreach efforts through K-State Research and Extension collaborations with the Kansas Water Office and privately-owned farms in western and southern Kansas, and other agencies and organizations. Through the vision and generosity of those farmer-collaborators, the public is able to view how new irrigation technologies and management techniques work on real-world farms.

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For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/

Better Kansas – Aug. 13, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

 

 

 

 

In this week’s Better Kansas, we touch on putting together advance directives, costs and benefits of home gardening, chiggers, western Kansas field days, chainsaw safety and a new ag research effort. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Share on social media and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

THERE ARE SOME CONVERSATIONS WE’D RATHER NOT HAVE, RIGHT? Like what happens to Mom’s jewelry when she’s gone? Or Uncle Bill’s sweet ’57 Chevy? Those may be decisions that can be put off to another day. One thing none of us should put off is making sure our wishes are clear if we can’t speak for ourselves in case of a medical crisis. It may sound morbid to say, but a pandemic will bring these conversations to the forefront like nothing else will. Without advance directive documents, decisions can be made for you that may be inconsistent with your wishes. Until I looked into this, I didn’t know the difference between “durable power of attorney for health care” and “living will” or “pre-hospital do not resuscitate” directives. They’re all considered advance directives and each is simply explained in Advance Health Care Planning in Kansas. Take a look for that information and more.

 

ACCORDING TO PEOPLE WHO KNOW ABOUT THESE THINGS :), NOW’S A GOOD TIME TO PLANT A FALL SALAD GARDEN. Many people cite cost savings as a reason to grow their own fruits and vegetables rather than buy them. To “dig” a little deeper, a new resource Gardening 911: Costs and Benefits of Home Gardening walks us through whether it’s more cost effective to grow our own produce than to buy it. It gets into the dollars and cents but also less obvious benefits: stress relief and mental health. Plus, there’s just something rewarding about growing … anything! I’ve had some successes with zucchini and cantaloupe but was a failure with strawberries. Surely it was the variety I chose?! Or the weather??

 

LIKE MANY OF YOU, I’VE BEEN OUTDOORS A LOT LATELY and am reminded that we share the great outdoors with many, many others. In this case I’m talking about chiggers. In looking through resources to learn more about those tiny little creatures, I’ve discovered that we have at least 46 SPECIES of chiggers right here in Kansas. And I so want to call them blood suckers, but in fact I also learned that they are no such thing. Take a look at Pests That Affect Human Health: Chiggers to learn more.

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

COVID-19 HAS CERTAINLY ALTERED OUR DAY-TO-DAY ROUTINES, but agricultural research goes on! To share research findings in western Kansas with farmers, ranchers and related businesses, K-State is having two virtual field days in late August. The Western Kansas Virtual Fall Field Day-Hays is Aug. 26 from noon to 1:30 and the Southwest Research-Extension Center Virtual Fall Field Day is Aug. 27 from noon to 1:30 p.m. The free events cover a variety of topics, including:

Aug. 26: New Herbicide-Tolerant Crop Traits and Weed Control Strategies in Western Kansas; The Role of Temperature in Insect Population Dynamics; Dual Use of Cover Crops for Soil Health and Forage in Dryland Systems; and Sorghum Hybrids for Early and Normal Planting.

Aug. 27: Alfalfa and Corn Insect Management Strategies Update; A Decade of Dryland Cover Crop Research in Western Kansas; Expanding Cotton Recommendations; and Bee Diversity in Edge Habitat of Active Croplands in Western Kansas.

Click here to register, or for more information contact the K-State Western Kansas Agricultural Research Center at Hays 785-625-3425 or the Southwest Research-Extension Center in Garden City 620-275-9164.

 

IS IT WEIRD THAT I GOT A RUSH FROM USING A CHAINSAW YEARS AGO? Under the watchful eye of my neighbor, Bill, of course. It was his chainsaw after all, and he knew I was a rookie. But wow, it made short work of some pesky tree branches! Anyone who’s used one or seen one in action knows that like much machinery, they can be hugely helpful and very dangerous. Those of you planning a project might want to review Chain Saws – Safety, Operation, Tree Felling Techniques. I always associated the term “kickback” with bribery. Chainsaws give it a whole different meaning.

 

ANYONE WHO THINKS FARMING IS THE SAME AS IT WAS EVEN 10 YEARS AGO might be surprised at the ever-increasing ways technology is being used to make growing the world’s food supply more efficient and sustainable. And many research efforts looking into ways to do that involve partnerships between universities and individual farmers. Read about one of the newest collaborative projects involving high speed precision seeding. As is the case with many research projects, K-State students will have the opportunity to work with the latest technology on the project.

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For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Better Kansas – Aug. 6, 2020

Posted on by Mary Lou Peter

Header image for the Better Kansas Blog

In today’s Better Kansas, we address the hazards of sitting, food waste, empty nesters, lawn irrigation, 2020 wheat variety performance and a sheep and goat survey. This is a small glimpse of what K-State Research and Extension across the state has to offer. Keep the ideas and feedback coming and subscribe! – Mary Lou Peter mlpeter@ksu.edu

Better Living, Better Communities

FOR VARIOUS REASONS, MANY OF US HAVE BEEN SITTING … A LOT! That doesn’t mean we’re lazy. It’s just that a lot of us spend hours every day at a computer. And for those of us still working from home, we’re not even getting into our vehicles to go to and from work or walking into buildings, climbing the stairs at the office or other activity involved in our normal day-to-day lives. In fact, normal is beginning to feel like a distant memory. That’s why the article Are We Sitting Ourselves to Death? really resonated with me. The article references the K-State Research and Extension Walk Kansas program which won’t kick in again until next spring, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get out there and start moving on our own – even if it’s 15 minutes at lunchtime.

IT’S KIND OF SHOCKING, BUT WE WASTE A LOT OF FOOD – to the tune of $1,500 a year for a family of four on average. In total, 133 billion pounds or 30% to 40% of edible food is wasted each year, worth an estimated $161 billion in the United States alone. I’m as guilty as the next person when it comes to buying something that sounds good at the time, only to find it hidden behind the milk and orange juice in the fridge, covered with a fine layer of mold. Or remember that can of sweet potatoes you bought in 2012? For a whole lot more on this topic, read Working Together to Reduce Food Waste. It includes suggestions for ways to avoid food waste as well as productive ways you can still use food even if it’s not okay to eat.

 

EMPTY NEST? When the last of the kiddos flies the coop or is about to, it can trigger a range of emotions for parents, including excitement, relief, anxiety and more. If they’re leaving because they’re off to school … or to a new job (would benefits be too much to ask?), it’s quite a moment. And what will day-to-day life be like without them? An article, What Happens Now? The Children are Gone has been around awhile, but how we feel and react to this part of life hasn’t changed much. This brought back my own flood of memories from when the first of my three went off to college and the reality that the dynamics of our family were changed forever. And wow, when the other two left, the house was SO (too) QUIET!

 

Better Farming, Ranching and Gardening

THOUGH EARLY AUGUST BROUGHT WELCOME RAIN AND A BREAK IN TEMPERATURES for some of us, plenty of counties in western and southeast Kansas are still dry. Wherever we are, irrigating lawns may make sense this summer. But even if you’re watering three times a week, do you know how much moisture your grass is getting? One of the best (and amazingly simple) suggestions I’ve heard is to place empty cans in various places around your yard, so you can measure just how much water gathers in them. That suggestion and a whole lot more information is available on the Turfgrass Irrigating page.

 

MAKING DECISIONS – ESPECIALLY THOSE WITH BIG FINANCIAL, TIME AND EFFORT IMPLICATIONS, is difficult, but Kansas wheat growers have help as they determine what varieties to plant this fall. The Wheat Variety Disease and Insect Rating 2020 publication shows how different wheat varieties fared around the state in the 2019-20 growing season with regard to disease and insect challenges. The information, used in combination with data available in the K-State Winter Wheat Performance Tests report, offers growers powerful tools to assist in making planting decisions.

 

NOT LONG AGO I DISCOVERED HOW MUCH I LIKE GOAT CHEESE, so was happy to learn that the sheep and goat industry across Kansas is growing. In 2018, Kansas was home to nearly 74,000 sheep, 43,000 goats raised for meat and 6,000 goats raised for dairy. To help determine the economic impact of that industry, K-State Research and Extension and the Kansas Department of Agriculture are asking producers to take the Sheep and Goat Survey. The results will be used to help guide education, marketing, research and outreach efforts and will shed light on sheep and goat inventories in particular parts of the state.

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For more resources and activities, contact the K-State Research and Extension office in your area. Check out our other blogs and subscribe to our weekly emails here: https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/blogs/